Greece’s “Made in Greece” production that supplies retail stores and small businesses across the country has been steadily declining as the number of imported products sold is rising, a new report says, marking the lowest point of locally produced products supplying Greek businesses since 2016.
Only one in three (36 percent) products sold in over 100,000 Greek retail stores and small businesses are made in Greece, the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship says in its yearly report for 2024, while the bulk of the products sold are now imported (64 percent). This, coupled with stagnant revenues and rising operation costs has been raising alarms for the future of Greek entrepreneurship.
While Greece used to be the main product supplier of Greek retail shops, which are considered the backbone of the Greek economy, locally produced products have been steadily declining from 72 percent in 2020, to 61 percent in 2021, 59 percent in 2023 and 36 percent in 2024. In contrast, imports from other European Union countries keep gaining ground -stood at 35 percent in 2024, 22 percent in 2023 and at 14 percent in 2020.
Imports from Asian markets, particularly from China, jumped to 21 percent last year while in 2023 they stood at 15 percent. According to the report, it is believed that Greek retailers are opening up to new markets in search for cheaper products while businesses have also began importing products from African countries and the Middle East (four percent), when in previous years there were almost none such imports.
In 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic and due to the disruptions in the global supply chain, Greek businesses turned to locally produced products. Yet, the move was short-lived and as the report highlights, not only Greek businesses suffer from low competitiveness but moreover Greece has a low-productivity base. As Greek retailers struggle to increase their profit, they turn to cheaper imported products which potentially, could be of lower quality.
The report is based on the survey of 1,000 small businesses, excluding super markets, gas stations and pharmacies.
As Greek consumers are increasingly trying to find more “value for money” products, several major foreign retail chains have been entering the Greek market, further sidelining “Made in Greece” products, which are more expensive.
The Chinese fashion retailer Shein is launching in Greece with a store scheduled to open at Pagrati in central Athens. Known for selling relatively inexpensive apparel, Shein’s success has been credited to its popularity among Generation Z consumers.
The company was initially compared to a drop-shipping business, as it was not involved in design and manufacturing, instead sourcing products from the wholesale clothing market in Guangzhou, China.
At the same time, several Turkish retail chains, selling from home decor and bedding to socks and cosmetics, have been trying to get a slice of Greece’s changing retail market. LC Waikiki for example, a clothing and home chain, is planning to more than double its number of stores across the country from 13 to over 30 by 2026.
